Comments

Recent reports in the media about the Gonski recommendations for school funding published a list of schools which were supposedly going to lose money under Gonski. How this list was created is a mystery because the modelling on which this funding would be based and allocated to schools has not been finalised. The Opposition, which has consistently declared they would not support Gonski, now expect the public to accept that they not only know what the modelling will look like, but how the allocations to schools will work. The lists are essentially a scare campaign driven by Christopher Pyne, whose performance on a recent programme of Q and A on the ABC made it crystal clear where he and his Party stand in regards to education funding and public schooling. As the Government has not yet released the final funding model, the Opposition would be hard pressed to back up its claims of any schools receiving less funding than they currently have. The whole point of Gonski is to ensure that no school suffers a loss of funding, and many under-funded schools will benefit, no matter which education sector they are in. The Government has consistently stated their commitment that no school will lose under Gonski. The facts are that if Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party were to gain Government at the next federal election they propose cutting education funding by $2.8 billion, as well as dis-continuing the National Partnership Agreements and their associated funding. Add this to the current under-funding of more than $5 billion and then publish a list of the schools which will really lose funds under the Opposition, many of which are experiencing extreme hardship right now. This list would, I suggest, run to many pages in any newspaper. The Gonski recommendations and the associated changes to the education funding model mean real and meaningful changes are possible for students across Australia. They mean that a postcode will not dictate educational success. All students will have the support and the opportunity to reach their potential. This can only have a positive impact on the future of Australia and all Australians. Resources delayed means students denied.